I have a quantity of 30/06 brass and was thinking about turning them into 7x57's.
Has anyone done this? It would seem to me, after shortening the cases and running them through a FL 7x57 die that should do it or does this require an intermediate die?
Any input would be appreciated.
Stepchild

You could do it, but the necks could very possibly be way too thick, so some outside neck turning would be in order. By the time you bought the tools to do it, you could probably get 1 or 2 hundred new cases from Midway or one of the other mail order houses. be a lot better and easier to just get new cases. JMHO.
Paul B.

Paul,
Thanks for the reply. I already own the required tools, I was just wondering how the cases would turn out using my plan.
Any sane man would pick up the phone and order some brass and have it done with but I have an almost unlimited source for once fired 30/06 brass and I enjoy fooling with such stuff.
Stepchild

Keep having fun and with any luck your chamber will be large enough so you don't have to turn necks. Many bench shooters prefere tight necks. Get lucky. Roger

Hey when I had very little expendable income I made 6.5X257 cases out opf 30-06 machine gun brass. That was back in 67-68 and I still have most of that brass. I have to admit it has not be shot that much, but it is still good.

I did NOT have to neck turn the 30-06 to 6.5X257 but your chamber may have a tight neck. Use a fgood lube and go for it. You may want to anneal the cases. I had a rash of neck and shoulder failures on a gun I was shooting today and the cases for it was formed from 06. Gusee I will anneal the next batch before forming though I did get at least 3-4 loadings out of this batch!

Sorted out 185 R-P and 75 FCs tonight to get this project complete in time for season. Will form the FCs for jacketed, and the R-Ps for cast.

That is the advantage of the 30-06 base, it can make a LOT of useful cartridges if need be!

LouisB

Go forth and make brass for your 7X57.

Roger, TC,
Thanks for your comments. Annealing was on my list of things to do. I've made .17 Remington cases out of .222 Mag,and .223. 22/250 out of .243's and several others so I don't see any problems with this one.
Stepchild

Step Child:

I was looking to do the same thing for 8 x 57 brass, from 30/06. I am sure with all the '06 brass I have, the 8mm version would be necked down to 7 x 57 and 6.5 x57 along the way.

I have ordered a RCBS form die from Midway for the 8 x 57. Will just work on it casually over the winter in the garage at times. No rush, so it won't be tedious.

Wanted to do this also, so I have some nickel cases in 7 x 57 and 6.5 x 57 from nickel 270/280/30;06 brass. Just do it.
Tell us how it turns out. I am sure the update will be it turned out just fine.

Seafire/B17G,
I appreciate your comments. I am in no hurry with this project,and I will post the results.
I recently bought a 1908 Brazilian that has a problem, the first two or three threads are stripped out on the action(front hole)so that needs to be repaired first(no wonder it was so cheap)
Judging by your handle, unless I miss my guess you were(are) a B17 pilot?
In your experience, do you think 120gr. bullets will shoot in this gun or am I going to have to use a heavier bullet?
I would like to hear about your handicapped lady friends Elk experience. You are to be commended!
Stepchild

StepChild:

I think a 120 grain will work fine. If a Ballistic Tip, I just tend to limit their MV at 2700, so that they don't expand too violently when they hit the intended game.

As far as the hunt with the handicapped lady, nothing really to report. We were high at about 6,000 feet near Crater Lake. The area had had some snow about a week before that had melted quickly. However, the last night talking with a few forest service people, they also were not seeing Elk at the higher elevations. Figured the snow had driven them down to lower elevations. Most of those I talked to that had gotten Elk, or had those in camps near them that got one, were all shot at the lower elevations.

Oh well, that is why they call it Hunting Instead of Just shooting right?

As far as the B17 pilot, no was not one, born in 1952. My dad was a career AF officer and pilot. We lived in England from 1963 to 1966. Got to learn a lot about what the flyers did serving our country in WW2, getting to go visit the memorials and graveyards of American Airmen that never made it home. Learned to love the B 17, and aircraft in general. B 17's were stationed on the base that I went to school on. It was home to the 303rd Bomb Group. There were still the remains of some B 17s at the local dumps and junk yards when I lived in England.
I have had a lifelong love affair with the B 17 since I was 12.

Poor eye sight kept me from becoming an AF pilot myself. Declined to go to the AF Academy although got accepted to it.

In high school had the honor of working at the Smithsonian in the Aviation hall, and got to spend a lot of time at Silver Hill. Silver Hill is the Smithsonian's garage. All sorts of Aircraft out there in storage.

Both 7x57 and 8x57 can be made from 06 brass. Necks will be thick and your trimmer will get a workout.

I made some 8X57 brass from 06. The necks didnt need to be trimmed but if the chamber was a bit smaller they would have. Your Mauser may vary.

Stepchild - Nothing to converting the 06 brass to the 7 or 8 mm Mausers. I've made and used a lot over the years with zero problems.

The easiest way to form most cases is to order an RCBS File/Trim Die. (Very inexpensive) All you do is screw in down to the top of your ram in the press, lube the case and size it. Whatever sticks out the top of the die you cut off with hacksaw and touch it up a bit with a file and you're done. Sometimes you may want to straighten the neck a tad in your case trimmer.

But that's all there is to it. That's the beauty of /06 brass. It's not REALLY just /06 brass. You can turn it into lots of critters.

[ 10-27-2003, 09:51: Message edited by: Pecos45 ]

I had been loading 8 x 57 for years before I discovered that someone actually made 8 x 57 brass! Not only did our 8mm brass come from '06, but some bit of our .257 Roberts came from the same source.

With the sloppiness of the typical factory chamber, it is unusual to have to thin the necks. It's not a bad idea to turn the necks, however, to achieve uniform neck thickness (if you're a bit on the anal-retentive side). The thicker necks from reworked brass gives you a bit more to work with in this process.

Factory brass comes with varying degrees of anneal. Try some first without annealing to see if it is soft enough to work with reasonable ease. If not, then judiciously anneal. I've seen brass totally ruined by over-annealing.

There are all kinds of intermediate steps you COULD take. However, just one pass through your 7 x 57 die will likely produce the finished product you desire (after trimming and bevelling, of course).

seafire /B17G,
Sorry to hear about the results on Elk. They sure aren't too predictable are they? I once saw a herd of Elk in the desert east of Rock Springs,Wyoming. It came as quite a surprise,not exactly Elk habitat but there they were, one Monster bull and a harem of cows.
I have never fooled with a 7m/m before, just happened to stumble across this one. The barrel appears to be a military,yet the twist is around 1-9.75? It appears to be something Herters put together back in the day.
I too hold a fondness in my heart for old military planes, P51D being in 1st place.

Thanks to all who replied to my question.

I need a set of 7x57 FL dies if anybody has a set for sale.
Stepchild